I want to talk about what I personally have had serious issues with, and if you find yourself doing any of those listed above, battling with lack of motivation, or with short-living motivation, just read on, I promise you won't regret it.
There's still something I've come to understand and if you understand this simple concept, You'll have a different and clearer understanding of how motivation really works and how to make it a very good friend.
What is motivation?
Now, what exactly is motivation? Most people haven't still gotten the hang of it. We have been conditioned to seeing books and talks as only sources of inspiration. But what exactly is it? What is motivation?It stems from the Latin word 'movere', which means to move, so, motivation isn't a 'feeling' that comes after waiting, note that. We have failed to realise the simple fact that you can only get lasting motivation by doing, nothing else. If this isn't true, tell me why you'll forget a book the moment you're done except you practicalise what you just read, or jump right in front of your T.V playing video games just after listening to Steve Jobs Stanford commencement address? That's it, it doesn't make sense to quite a number of people but you only get motivation by doing, I'll tell you why.
For you to get the most out of swimming, except you're Theodor Kaluza, you absolutely don't need to read about it. You get the most by throwing yourself in. For every action, there's an equal or opposite reaction. Don't expect to live in your comfort zone and hope for some magic to happen. The successful ones don't wait for motivation, they act irrespective of how they feel. So, it's not about how you feel, just like Nike's logo, Just do it. Someone told me something some few days ago, it's all human nature to be lazy while still expecting good results, it's like failing to plant your seeds while expecting a forest. We have to discipline ourselves to stand up, no one can do that for you.
We all know that Motivation doesn't last forever, but you need something to keep you going when you lack it. Motivation is incomplete without some very vital, very important things.
- Perseverance is one of them. I love to call it 'grit'. No matter how motivated you are, if that motivation isn't in the right hands, it's worth nothing. Grit is that indomitable character. The "I refuse to give up and I'm going to succeed no matter how long it takes" character. That's what really get things done. There's an overlap between grit and motivation, but grit sums it all.
- Goals too is another. We often listen to a podcast, read an article, or my most favorite, watch a TED talk and something 'clicks'. It clicks but we don't direct our movements from there onward, we don't make decisions to stick to a lane or stand up for ourselves. That brings me to the next point...
- Take Action. Yeah, life is like movies in the sense that you're always on set. Not going to dwell much on this because as i discussed earlier, you only get motivation by doing. And can only be maintained by doing, and doing what you do consistently.
So there you have it, action is the most important in staying motivated and has been so neglected because of laziness or solely believing meta-physicists telling us to "find your inner man" and "visualise" things to being. I don't doubt any of those, I actually believe in sitting down and thinking before taking bold steps, but, it shouldn't be a substitute for taking actions. Stand up because you can, because you should and because you must!!!
